Inventors and Inventions

1. Inventors and Inventions

2. Recap • This time period begins just at the end of the Civil War and is called the Industrial Revolution • The country is continuing to expand Westward • Why it matters • Innovations in technology and new business combinations help the United States grow into a great industrial power • Main Idea • Inventions improved the transportation and communication networks that were vital to the nation’s industrial growth

3. Communication Changes • Inventions in communication improved and transformed American life • They helped unify different regions and encouraged economic growth • Laying the transatlantic cable

4. Inventions in Communication • Telegraph - Samuel Morse - 1844 • System of dots and dashes called Morse Code • Used to communicate around the world • Telephone – Alexander Graham Bell – 1885 • Used mostly to speed up business • 1900 – homeowners began to find it a timesaver • Wireless Telegraph (Radio) – GuglielmoMarconi – 1895 • First used for entertainment in 1906

5. The Genius of Invention • Between 1860 and 1890, the United States government granted more than 400,000 patents for new inventions. • Famous inventions: • The Kodak Camera – George Eastman • Vacuum Cleaner – John Thurman – 1868 • Typewriter – Christopher Sholes - 1868 • Adding Machine – William Burroughs – 1868 • What might we be without today if these inventions were never created? • Think about what all these inventions may have lead to and list everything you can think of on the paper below

6. Thomas Edison • Most famous inventor of all time • Many of his inventions made life easier for Americans. • Light bulb quite possibly his most important invention • Phonograph (record player), motion picture projector, battery and hundreds of others. • The Electric Power Plant • Edison built the first one in New York City in 1882 • Soon after, more were built to power homes and businesses

7. African American Inventors • Because of racial segregation many had trouble getting patents • Lewis Howard Latimer – developed an improved filament for the light bulb and joined Edison’s company. • Elijah McCoy – created device that oiled engines automatically • Granville T. Woods – created an electromagnetic brake for trains • Jan Matzeliger – created a shoe-making machine that performed many steps previously done by hand.

8. A Changing Society • In the 1900s, improvements ushered in a new era of transportation • The Automobile • No single person invented the automobile • People started building cars in the 1860’s • Only the elite or rich could afford • Henry Ford changed the industry • Ford introduced the assembly line • Allowed for mass production • Cars were made more efficiently which made them more affordable

9. The Automobile • The automobile changed American culture • People no longer needed to live close to work • The suburbs were born • People could go out and do more fun things • Socializing was revolutionized (dating changed) • What other ways did the automobile change the world?

10. The Airplane • Invented by the Wright brothers in 1903 • Did not attract much attention at the time • Eventually airplane pioneers used their idea to adapt to make better planes • Changed the world because exotic and remote places became accessible.